Hawaii

At a Glance

State Population: 1,440,196
Local Health Departments: N/A
Frequent Public Health Emergencies: Tropical Storms/Hurricanes, Flooding, Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Key Emergency Operations Center Activations:
2020 – COVID-19 Pandemic
CDC PHEP Funding:
FY 2022: $5,642,210
FY 2021: $5,305,643
FY 2020: $5,627,369
Public Health Crisis Response Funding:
Mpox 2023 Funding: $265,623
COVID-19 2021 Funding: $9,280,889
COVID-19 2020 Funding: $6,317,500

PHEP-Funded Staff

Epidemiologists: 2
Laboratorians: 7
Planners: 5
Other: 22*

*Includes IT specialists, administrative staff, statisticians, and other positions

Top 5 Preparedness Investments

Public Health Laboratory Testing
Community Preparedness
Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation
Information Sharing
Emergency Operations Coordination

Stories from the Field

CDC in Action–Protecting Hawaii Residents during Kilauea Volcano Eruption

In Hawaii, the PHEP program facilitates training and exercising in emergency management for public health staff to minimize the negative health impacts of emergencies and disasters. When the Kilauea Volcano erupted in May 2018, PHEP-funded staff deployed public health teams to evaluate health and safety risks in shelters where affected residents stayed and kept the public updated on air quality and lava flow through social media and a health department advisory webpage. Thanks to preparation through PHEP, staff were also able to quickly establish six distribution sites to distribute more than 52,000 particulate filtering masks to residents in affected areas to help protect against volcanic ash.

Supporting Hepatitis A Outbreak Investigation and Response

When a hepatitis A outbreak sickened more than 240 people in the summer of 2016, PHEP-funded staff supported communications with partners as well as the public and facilitated staffing logistics. As a result, subject matter experts were able to concentrate on providing guidance concerning, for example, vaccinations, symptoms, and treatment to people who were exposed to the virus. Epidemiologists and investigators were also able to focus on tracing the cases of illness to contaminated scallops at a restaurant. The presence of the incident command system enhanced Hawaii’s ability to bring an end to the outbreak and potentially save lives.